Hey all
Just wanted to see if anyone had any good recent suggestions on Low D whistles, preferably tunable?
I see the Dixon on Amazon for $99 and also just stumbled across a couple recommendations for James Dominic whistles but haven’t seen many reviews on the JDM whistles
I’m based out of the US btw.
My experience, which was buying, borrowing, and trying around 40 different Low D whistles several years back, was that with Low D whistles you get what you pay for.
This is opposite to High D whistles where $10 whistles often play better than $200 whistles or $600 whistles.
With Low D whistles all the best-playing ones I tried were around the same price, $300 to $400.
The makers were Colin Goldie, Reviol, MK, Lofgren, Reyburn, and Burke.
These play quite differently from each other but all have good volume, good Bottom D, good voicing, and good tuning.
The outlier is Susato. I don’t like Susato high whistles but their Low D is quite good, with a powerful Bottom D, good overall volume, a high octave that’s not too loud, and good tuning.
They are rather tricky beasts.
If you have any doubts as to whether you’ll take to it as an instrument, pay as little as you can for a secondhand whistle. But if you’re already set on it, you’ll likely save money by paying more at the outset. It might not be the whistle you end up regarding as your favourite, but it’ll hold its value if you decide to sell it on.
It’s also easier to research the playing qualities of the good shortlist that PP gave above than the whole market. Two of the physical considerations are air requirements and weight, which for some individuals can make the difference between playable and not.
Also, if feasible, buy it from somewhere you could return it if it’s clear straight away that it’s not for you. Original makers will often do this, but some good music shops also do it.